Marriage already requires sharing, sacrificing and adapting, and that’s before you add tennis balls flying around.
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Now imagine playing mixed doubles with your spouse.
“Dear, can you get that one?” “Honey, why did you double fault again?” “Please stop stepping in front of my forehand!”
For some couples, playing on the same side of the net is less a lighthearted pastime and more of a relationship stress test.
But for Brittany and Brian Morton of Newport Coast, it has been a match made in heaven.
If you have any questions about playing husband-and-wife tennis, ask the Mortons.
The former Corona del Mar High sweethearts and longtime Palisades Tennis Club members are the hottest couple in town.
In March, the Mortons won their eighth consecutive United States Tennis Association National Husband/Wife Championship at the Open Grass Court Nationals, and on April 19 captured their ninth straight USTA National title at the Open Clay Court Championships.
Last year, they won the Golden Slam — all four USTA Husband/Wife Championships, and this year they hope to do it again.
Every USTA national title winner receives a prestigious Gold Ball, and the Mortons have now won 11 together – nine in the husband/wife division and two in mixed doubles, often competing against younger couples.
What’s the secret sauce?
“I would say it’s our chemistry – it’s always there,” Brittany Morton said. “The first tournament we won together, we were 12 years old in mixed doubles. We’ve always had great chemistry and our games complement each other. It’s very easy for us to play together. Over a matter of time, we don’t even need to talk to each other on the court. We know when we’re on track or what we’re supposed to be doing in terms of communication between us.”
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Then Brittany née Reitz, she won the CIF Southern Section girls singles championship for Corona del Mar in her junior year in 1999 and earned a tennis scholarship to Purdue, later transferring to the University of San Diego.
Brian Morton grew up playing at Mesa Verde Tennis Club in Costa Mesa, where his father, Glenn, was the head tennis professional. At CdM under Coach Tim Mang, Morton won the CIF Southern Section boys doubles championship with Garrett Snyder in 2001, before a standout collegiate career at UC Irvine.
While Brian Morton has captured multiple USTA National Men’s 35s Hard Court Championships, including a title with former CdM teammate Cameron Ball on April 26, Brittany and Brian Morton only started playing tennis together again about two and a half years ago.
After college, Brittany Morton took some time off from tennis, starting her own CPA firm while her family was raising two children. Now, their kids are in high school, and she has returned to the court in style.
Shortly after Brittany Morton started hitting tennis balls again with her husband, the couple won the first USTA event they entered, the Husband/Wife National Hard Courts in Claremont.
“I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is amazing,’ and I started feeling that passion again and the rest is history,” Brittany Morton said.
While it was love at first serve for the Mortons, they have steered their children clear of tennis, because they “don’t want to go through (junior tennis) again,” Brian said.
Their son, Max, plays baseball and their daughter, Gigi, plays volleyball.
Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.